Solution sought as New Philadelphia and Uhrichsville respond to Midvale emergencies

Friday

Mar 9, 2018 at 4:48 PMMar 9, 2018 at 11:40 PM

MIDVALE Officials from three communities are working to determine what to do about the fact that the New Philadelphia and Uhrichsville fire departments are responding to emergencies in Midvale.

Cindy Davis TimesReporter.com correspondent Staff Reporter

MIDVALE Officials from three communities are working to determine what to do about the fact that the New Philadelphia and Uhrichsville fire departments are responding to emergencies in Midvale.

New Philadelphia Fire Chief Jim Parrish and Uhrichsville Fire Chief Justin Edwards attended Thursday's meeting of Midvale Village Council to discuss two options for Midvale: The cities can continue to provide mutual aid, while implementing a cost recovery program for expenses; or, if the Midvale-Barnhill-Brightwood Volunteer Fire Department would be dissolved, to contract with one of the departments for coverage.

“We’re not here to take over your village,” Parrish said. “We just want to have cost recovery to be fair to our citizens.”

Parrish said Goshen Township pays the department $130,000 annually to cover their territory, which includes the village of Midvale. It was estimated that each time the Uhrichsville or New Philadelphia fire departments respond to a call, it costs $2,500. Edwards said Uhrichsville will send an ambulance to an accident, but if there is a structure fire, both the New Philadelphia and Uhrichsville fire departments will respond.

Officials speaking at Thursday's council meeting stressed that a personnel shortage at local departments is not uncommon, given the time and expense needed for training.

Midvale Mayor Brian “Doug” Cross said he feels the situation with Midvale's fire department is “desperate.”

“I respect our Fire Chief Mike Woolf so much,” Cross said. “But he works about 10 hours a day and can’t be available at all times.” Cross said assistant Fire Chief Tracy Goddard is dealing with family health issues at this time.

"It's a volunteer fire department," Woolf said. "A lot of the guys work during the day."

Woolf said the department has six members, of whom four are emergency medical technicians.

Thursday's meeting followed a recent meeting among Midvale officials and New Philadelphia Mayor Joel Day and Uhrichsville Mayor Rick Dorland.

Several residents who attended Thursday's Midvale council meeting thanked the departments for their help throughout the years and making them feel more safe.

In January, council authorized Goddard to apply for two grants, one for training reimbursement and the other for equipment. He had explained that three people were entering fire school, at a cost of $1,575. One was also taking the EMT training course. “We need to get our personnel built back up in our department,” Goddard said at the time.

A community meeting is expected to scheduled in the near future to discuss issues surrounding the Midvale-Barnhill-Brightwood Volunteer Fire Department.

The topic arises as New Philadelphia and Uhrichsville await the results of a study done to determine whether sharing fire services between the two communities is a viable option for finding solutions to staffing needs and increased costs. Parrish said the report is expected in April or May.

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